We did this: Ballarat's amazing gift for those in need

He said Christmas would not be the same without it.

"Every year this happens and then a week later it is Christmas," he said.

A small army of volunteers gathered on Saturday December 16 as hundreds of Ballarat residents returned their boxes of food donations and presents to York Street.

Mr Barwick has taken part in the donation drive for a number of years.

"The first time I came here was to deliver a box with my mum," he said.

"I brought the box in, saw all my friends helping out and saw how many boxes there were."

Mr Barwick said he simply had to help.

By 3pm he had done just over 16,000 steps, moving around boxes and helping the crew to make sure they were all filled.

Organiser and founder Heather Luttrell said they want all the items in the boxes to be used by their recipients.

Sometimes families pull together boxes of a specific type, like gluten free or for children, so they keep those together.

Otherwise they remove gender or age specific items to make sure they go to the right people.

Ms Luttrell said some of her favourite moments of the day was catching the conversations when the volunteers explain the story of how the reverse advent calendar started and why it's important.

"We have a few people coming through towards the end of the day that want their children to see the bigger picture," she said.

"They get to see the impact of these boxes."

Amid cost of living pressures continuing and welfare services continuing to see more people who need help, Ms Luttrell said she was not sure how many people would be able to donate this year.

Welfare agencies involved in the drive filled the 1200 spots available within a few weeks.

By 4.30pm Ms Luttrell had counted 1260 boxes filled with more still coming in.

"We've had an incredible amount of donations from schools this year," she said.

"And businesses and community groups like Lions Club or Rotary filling multiple boxes."

On Monday December 18, the residents who have been put down to receive a box will be able to attend a Christmas party with face painting, balloon artists and a petting zoo.

Recipients will be able to choose out gifts and get them wrapped and will be able to pick up some fresh food to go along with the non-perishable items in the box.

"By six o'clock on Monday every box will either be in the hands of the recipient or they will be back at the agency centres," Ms Luttrell said.

She said if there are spare items after Monday they will go to the agencies as well to be distributed.